Blood Tears of the Phoenix
by Sabishiioni
Summary: Elena is raped and murdered and Reno is nowhere to be found
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII

Warnings: Goodbye, Rape (not explicit)

Mindless Babble:

* * *

"Where is she?"

The nurse looked up from her station to see a frantic young man advancing on her desk, the white coat bellowing behind him. Forest green eyes glinted dangerously from under unruly honey blond hair, demanding answers. Even without knowing who this man was, the nurse could tell this was a man to be feared. The two black suited shadows behind him only further enhanced that image.

"You mean the blond Turk that was just brought in?" she asked even though she already knew the answer.

"Elena, yes! Where is she?"

"She was admitted into the OR just a few minutes ago "

"Who brought her in?" one of the shadows asked, his deep voice seemingly void of all emotion.

The nurse flinched as she replied, "A tall redheaded man with marks under his eyes. He was kinda dressed like you."

"Reno," the other shadow spoke, startling her. "Do you know where he is now?"

The woman shook her head. "He took off right after we admitted the Tur- Elena."

The three men looked at each other, the bond between them allowing them to have a conversation without words. Finally, Rufus looked back at the petrified nurse.

"What is her condition?"

This time, the woman actually did scoot away from the trio. "She was severely injured I don't think I've ever seen a rape victim come in that bad and-" She cut herself off before she said 'live'.

" 'Rape'?" Three voices became one with the question.

"Y... yes. At least that's what the man said when he brought her in. She was wrapped in a bloodied blanket. S she lost consciousness shortly after they arrived." The poor woman looked like she was going to have a heart attack from fear.

Three faces showed the same disbelief. What kind of idiot would be stupid enough to rape a Turk?

The nurse had gathered up enough courage to nudge a clipboard towards them. "Umm... Your man left before we could even ask him to fill out the paperwork "

"Tseng." It came out as a command. The second shadow stepped forward to take the clipboard from the trembling hand.

"She is to receive the best care regardless of who you have to bring in." There was still that commanding tone in Rufus' voice.

"Yes, sir."

"Do you want me to go find Reno?"

Rufus shook his head as he led his two remaining Turks to the waiting area. "No, Rude. I have a feeling that Reno doesn't want to be found and when he's like that "

" He's as good as gone." Rude finished with a sigh.

"All we can do now is wait." Rufus settled down in one of the overstuffed chairs to do just that.

"I hate waiting," Rude mumbled, sitting down next to his boss. Tseng took the seat on the other side of Rufus.

The young blond smiled and tried not to worry.

* * *

After what seemed like an eternity, a surgeon approached the trio of men. The dark black hair was mussed and the color matched the color of the bags under his eyes. Even as he walked he was stretching, trying to work out the kinks in his back and neck. He stopped a few feet from the Shinra personal, his dark blue eyes taking in the hopeful looks he was getting.

"I'm Dr. Yue. I was the lead surgeon on Elena's case." He swallowed, hoping the stories he had heard of Rufus and his Turks and their short temper were not true. "I'm truly sorry but we couldn't save either of them."

It took a moment for the words to register in Rufus' brain. He heard the words and understood them, but they didn't seem to make any sense. Then he realized what was confusing him. "'Either'?"

Dr. Yue looked at him strangely. "Yes, she was almost five months pregnant."

Rufus looked at the two Turks wondering if they were as clueless as he. A single glance confirmed that they were. Tseng in particular seem completely pole axed.

Attention was drawn back to the doctor when he sighed. "I guess this means you have no idea who the father is?"

"You don't either?" The doctor shook his head and Rufus realized that Elena hadn't gone to Shinra Med for fear of the repercussions this would have had. "Wonderful."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII

Warnings: Rape, Violence, Cliffie

Mindless Babble:

* * *

Rufus was on his way home when the courier stopped him in the parking garage. The kid approached him like one would approach Bahamut. He held out a trembling hand that held a large manila envelope and a smaller regular envelope that had been stamped with the seal of the SOLDIER commander. Rufus thank the kid and gave him a 20 gil tip. The kid took the money, thanked him and took off, leaving Rufus with the feeling that the bill was going to end up framed.

Rufus slid into the backseat of the limo and told his driver, Jason, to head for home. The chauffeur informed him that they would have to make a slight detour because of road construction and then closed the divider window.

Rufus settled down into the plush leather seats and opened the small envelope first. It contained a letter of complaint from the commander of the local unit. He asked if Rufus would be so kind as to inform him of when the Turks were assigned to cleanse the area of the street gangs so he could pull his troops out of the way. The letter totally confused Rufus and he made a mental note to ask the commander what the hell he meant.

Then he slid open the large manila envelope. The top form was an autopsy report. Rufus glanced at it, confirming what he already knew- Elena had died in pain from over a hundred stab wounds, one that had ended the unborn child's life that had been growing inside of her.

The next few sheets were rap sheets of those the DNA tests from the semen samples had matched up with. Not one of the five rapists would be missed as all of them had at least three pages worth of crimes committed. An eyebrow arched as Rufus realized that he recognized one of the men as being a former Turk applicant. The man had been refuse because of something that had come up in his psych test. Rufus had never known what it was until now.

The last two sheets in the envelope actually caused him to choke. These were the link they had been searching for. But what they meant...

Rufus looked away from the license and results of the paternity test to glance out the window. They were slowly going past one of the hotel distracts. A sudden flash of red caught his eye and he called for Jason to stop the car. It didn't really matter as Rufus leaped from the still moving limo, chasing after a hope.

The door to the room he had seen the red flash disappear into was left ajar. As Rufus approached, he could hear the plea of a highly agitated man and the low growl that answered them. The young president charged into the room bringing his sawed off shotgun up to bear, only to be brought up short by the sight that greeted him.

The man he had recognized from the rap sheets was slumped against a wall, blood covering his chin. His clothes were rumpled and torn with burn holes in several places. Frightened steel blue eyes turned to meet forest green ones.

"Help me! He's gonna kill me! He's completely lost it!"

Rufus turned to face the attacker; shock and fear fighting for dominance. Reno stood there in clothes that were even more tattered then his victim's. Wounds that were only a few days old stood out an angry red against dirty pale skin. Mako blue eyes were fever bright, holding nothing but death for the man in front of him.

"Don't interfere, Shachou. This is the last man that laid his hands on Elena."

The man's eyes opened wide in terror. "Please, Mr. Shinra! Stop him!"

Rufus lowered his weapon and let a smug grin appear on his pale lips. "Well, here's the thing. Reno has been a no-call, no-show for four days. Technically, he was fired yesterday. I have no control over him. I'll tell you what though, I'll take notes on how you die and have someone engrave them on your tombstone. That is, if there's anything left of you to bury."

A feral grin lit Reno features and he advanced on the screaming rapist.

* * *

Tseng knocked on the heavy wooden door and looked again at Rude. They had been on their way to the Seventh Heaven on the slim chance that Reno had stopped by when Rufus had called them. He requested that they stop by his condo. Strongly requested.

A slightly weary looking Rufus answered. He ushered the two Turks into his home holding a finger to his lips. He led them into the living room and motioned for them to sit while he poured the drinks.

"We won't need to worry about finding Elena's killers."

"What? Why not?" Tseng demanded.

Rufus smirked as he set down the three tumblers of scotch on the cherry wood coffee table. Lack of sleep and frustration had eaten away at his Turk leader. "The mystery father took care of it for us. All five attackers are dead."

"Who... how... ?" Tseng seemed incapable of forming a single question. Rude looked just as confused.

"I know this because he told me just before he pummeled this last man to a pulp," Rufus replied setting the rap sheets on the table.

Rude slid closer to his commander as they looked at the papers. "So then where is he?"

"He is-"

"Shachou? I heard voices " Reno stood in the doorway to the guest bedroom, leaning heavily on the frame.

"You should still be-" For the second time that night, Rufus Shinra was interrupted.

In an instant, Tseng had Reno by the throat, slamming him against the wall, lifting him several inches off the floor. Bandaged hands pawed weakly at the taunt arm.

"TSENG! Let him go!" Rufus commanded horror struck.

"NO! He didn't even have the decency to attend the funeral of the woman he claimed to have loved!" Tears of rage streamed down his cheeks.

"Tseng, do you really want to kill Elena's husband?" Rufus asked softly.

"Hus...band?"

"Look at his ear."

Encircling a part of the upper ear was a twin to the one Elena had been wearing when she was buried. Things started to click into place.

_The Icicle Inn mission that Reno had flown Elena out for_

_Five months pregnant_

_The red, yellow and white roses that hadn't really come from the six year old girl_

_The shadow by the willow tree_

_The rings they chose to wear in their ears instead of on their fingers_

_Reno's time missing to hunt down his wife's killers._

Tseng gasped and released his second in command. Reno crumpled to the floor, too weak to do anything but gasp for air. Rude reached down to help his partner while Rufus moved between Tseng and his forgotten target. But not before the Wutaian finally saw all the blood soaked bandages.

"Shachou, what happened to him?"

Rufus waited until he had Tseng seated in one of the over stuffed chairs that sat on either end of the sofa and Rude had carried the barely conscious Reno to the couch. The dark skinned Turk held his injured friend like a father would hold a frightened child, cradling the gaunt form against his chest. Rufus sighed as he sat down opposite of Tseng.

"Reno was there when Elena was attacked. He tried to fight them off but was shot up with a paralyzing agent. The attackers took turns raping her and beating him."

Rude felt his heart jump. "You mean he had to watch "

Rufus nodded. "The gang left them thinking they would both die but the drugs wore off quicker then they had anticipated. Reno tried to get her to a hospital but it was too late. Elena had lost too much blood."

"And her first child," Tseng whispered miserably, knowing that Elena had probably lost any will to live after that.

Reno moaned, caught up in a fever dream. Rufus got up and retrieved a bowl of cool water and a washcloth. He pushed aside the glasses and files and set the bowl on the table, handing Rude the damp cloth. Tseng watched as the man who used his hands as lethal weapons gently cleansed the pale face of sweat.

"He is dying," Rufus said, his voice heavy with barely contained emotions. "Most of his wounds are severely infected but he refuses to get medical help, even now. I believe he's punishing himself for what happened to Elena."

"But it wasn't his fault!" Rude cried. He was still hurting over the fact that his best friend had gotten married and had never even told him. He understood why; they both had been trained under the rule of the former president, but he was sure Rufus would have understood. Heck, the kid probably would have insisted on conducting the ceremony himself!

"We all know that," Rufus replied, feeling the same hurt. "But we now need to get Reno to understand that."

"He grew up never knowing the love of parents," Tseng spoke with quiet wisdom. "The closest things he ever had to a family were the gang we rescued him from and a bunch of highly trained assassins. And now the one real family he was creating is viciously torn from him right in front of his eyes. How do you help someone recover from that?"

"I don't think there is a way," Rufus whispered, as Reno softly cried out his love's name.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII

Warnings: Short, Self Goodbye, Cliffie

Mindless Babble:

* * *

He was running through a forest of white trees. The ground beneath him was covered in a thick fog and the sky was white with stars. He didn't know if he was running from or running to something. All he knew was the pain in his chest, as if something had ripped out a vital organ.

He was suddenly falling as his feet splashed into a lake of midnight black water. A coldness wrapped around his body as the icy liquid covered him. He sank further into the darkness, acknowledging that he should have felt fear or panic but instead felt strangely void of anything but the pain.

"Reno "

He opened his eyes, eyes he hadn't realized were ever shut. There, in front of him, stood an angel. She had to be, Reno had no other name for the creature of incomparable beauty that reached for him. The lean, muscular female form was without clothing revealing skin so pure it was almost translucent. Short blond hair framed a face of flawless exquisiteness with eyes of sapphire and lips of bloodstone. She smiled at the one she loved, brushing his cheek with the softest touch.

"Reno. You don't belong here."

Reno shook his head emphatically "No, I don't want to loose you again. I can't!"

"We had almost a year, my Love."

"It wasn't enough!" Reno felt the tears falling from his eyes. He reached up to touch the hand that had stayed on his cheek, tilting his head into the warmth.

"It will have to be enough. You need to go back. The rest of our family is waiting for you." Tears like diamonds traced their way down soft cheeks.

"Elena, I love you. I don't want to go back to a world without you "

She gathered her husband into her arms, holding him tight as sobs wracked the slender body. Iridescent wings wrapped around the two lovers. "Our family has already buried a sister. Do you also wish them to bury a brother?"

"I don't care! I just want to be with you!"

Elena pushed Reno back enough to be able to turn his face up to hers. "I will wait for you, Reno, my Love." She sealed her promise with a kiss.

* * *

A weak cough was followed by loud cheering. Reno winced as the coughs abruptly grew violent in his chest. Hands were suddenly helping him to sit up, letting him lean against something solid and warm. As the choking eased up, something cool and wet touched his lips. He took several swallows before trying to pull back. The glass was pulled away and Reno let his eyes flutter open.

He had Rude to thank for his warm support and Rufus for the water. Over his boss' shoulder, he could see Tseng standing a good distance away, staring at the floor. Reno tugged on Rude's sleeve.

"What happened?"

Rude ignored how weak his partner's voice sounded and replied, "You gave up. Your breathing stopped as well as your heart. Tseng and I did CPR while Shachou called the medics."

"Tseng?" Reno laid his head against the muscular chest. He tried to raise his hand to reach out to his commander, calling to him. "Tseng I... I'm sorry "

The Wutain was on the floor in an instant, capturing the others hand in his own. "No, Reno. You have nothing to be sorry for. You loved her-"

"But I couldn't protect her."

Three men that had been accused of being heartless felt something in their chest break. Tseng choked out a reply. "But you tried, and she knows that. There was nothing you could have done."

Reno's eyes were fluttering as he fought a loosing battle with sleep. Before passing out, he managed to mumble, "Could've died with her."

* * *

Two weeks later found a despondent redhead being escorted by his best friend to his office. Rude glanced at his partner and felt his heartstrings tighten. The talkative and energetic Reno he had once known had been replaced by this silent withdrawn version. In the three days he had been back, Reno had muttered less then 30 words and most of them had been single word answers to queries about his health.

They stopped in front of Reno's office. When Rufus had rebuilt the Shinra HQ, he made sure to give each one of his Turks that had stuck with him their own office. Rude's was right next door to his partner's while Tseng's was across the hall. Elena's was directly across from Reno's, a fact Rufus regretted.

"I have to go talk to Rufus this morning. Will you be okay for a while?" Since the night of revealed secrets Reno hadn't been left alone for any length of time. Either Rude or Tseng had been close by, making sure the younger Turk didn't do anything stupid.

Reno nodded mutely and entered his office, closing the door softly behind him. Rude sighed. While they had managed to heal the physical damage done to the now frail body, he wondered if the emotional damage had already killed his partner, leaving a breathing corpse to pantomime living.

* * *

Reno stood before the wall of window that looked over Midgard, seeing nothing but his own haggard reflection. Sunken cheek bones stood out against the too pale skin casting shadows like those of a fleshless skull. Vibrant red hair was no longer spiked, limply hanging over shadowed eyes. The dark blue suit draped the skeletal form that had once been lean and muscular.

"What could she had ever seen in me?" he mumble to the reflection. "She deserved so much better. Tseng probably could have saved her "

He walked over to the corner where the wall that divided his office from Rude's met the windows. He pulled back the carpet and the loose board under it, withdrawing the pistol he hid there. Rude and Tseng had torn his office apart looking for weapons or anything that could have been used as one, going so far as to even take his stapler. But they hadn't known about the secret compartment that held a .45 with a full clip.

Reno chambered a round and stared at the gun. He returned to his desk to take a photo from the very bottom of his top drawer. It had been taken on the day Reno had pledged his heart to Elena and she, hers to him. They were both smiling, arms wrapped around each other. The image brought tears to Mako blue eyes.

"I'm sorry, Elena. I'm not strong enough to keep going. I hope you can forgive me." He cocked the gun and opened his mouth. The taste of the cold metal reminded him of blood. He closed his eyes and pulled the trigger.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII

Warnings: Short, Sap

Mindless Babble:

* * *

"RENO!" Rude bellowed as his body slammed against the door, Tseng's body slamming into it a second later. "Damn it, answer!"

Fear strengthened him and the next time he connected with the door, it broke open. Rude stumbled into the room, followed by Tseng and Rufus. All three stopped in their tracks in shock at the sight before them.

_Three minutes ago_

-Click-

Reno blinked in surprise and pulled the gun away from his mouth. He opened the chamber and found that the bullet had jammed. Reno blinked again, this time in shock. He always kept his weapons in pristine condition to prevent instances like this. He pulled the bullet from the gun, dropping it to the floor. He was pulling back the slider to chamber another round when a translucent hand covered his own. He looked up to be met with a green-eyed glare.

"Elena!"

"This isn't the answer, Reno and you know it!" The shade of the young female Turk stared angrily at her husband. "I wasn't the one you should have asked for forgiveness. You have three brothers that would have died because of you!"

"They can survive without me. All I ever did was screw up anyway."

Elena's spectral gaze softened. "You're more important to them then just a few messed up missions. Tseng is already wrapped up in guilt over what he did to you. Your death, especially at your own hand, would kill him. And with his family all but gone, Rude would simply die of a broken heart. Then who would protect Rufus?"

"Rufus... " Reno dropped the gun. What had started out as just a job had blossomed into a love that he barely understood. Reno would have gladly given up his life to protect the young president and almost had that time Kadaj had attacked them at the lodge. Rufus had given him a reason to continue to exist after Sector Seven. Rufus, Tseng , Rude...

"Oh Gaia Rude " Reno fell to his knees. Rude had more or less adopted the younger Turk that first day they had been assigned together. Since that day they had been almost inseparable. Rude was his best friend and the first family Reno had ever really loved. And that love had been returned whole heartedly, Rude being an only child.

"Do you now see why I didn't want you to come with me? You have so much to live for, my Love."

"So did you," Reno replied, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"RENO!" The two lovers looked over as the door shuddered under the impact of the large man followed by the smaller one. "Damn it, answer!"

"So live enough for both of us." Elena smile and lifted the chin of the one she loved, her ethereal lips brushing over his trembling ones.

The door finally broke open, a pair of Turk spilling in, followed by their boss. What they found was a sobbing Turk, on his knees holding the barrel of his weapon, offering it to them. Tseng, recovering first, took the gun away from his distraught friends and switched the safety on. By then Rude had recovered as well and dropped to Reno's side gathering his partner up.

"Oh gods, Ren! I thought we were going to loose you when we got that message "

Reno looked up to see the tears falling from chocolate brown eyes and immediately felt guilty. It took a moment to realize that Rude didn't have his shades on. And it took him another moment to process what he said.

"W... what message?" he choked out.

"This one," Rufus said, finally approaching. He showed Reno his PHS.

'He has a gun' That was all the screen said.

"The message originates from Elena's office ."

Reno buried his head into his partner's chest. "I'm sorry."

Rude gently pushed the smaller man back. "We already told you, you have nothing to be sorry about."

"Yeah, I do. I wasn't thinking of you guys when I put that pistol in my mouth. All I could think of was how much I missed Elena. I didn't stop to think about the consequences. You always yell at me for that, Tseng."

"Well, I am glad that you finally listened," Tseng replied, the emotions he was feeling making his voice sound gruff.

"But I didn't," Reno said so softly, Tseng and Rufus had to kneel down next to the pair. "I pulled the trigger, but it jammed."

Rude raised an eyebrow. "But that's impossible. You take better care of your weapons then you do of yourself!"

Reno chuckled. "Yeah, but she stopped it. She was angry with me for trying to leave you guys. She made me promise to live for the both of us."

"Elena?" Rude asked as his hold on his partner tightened.

Reno nodded sluggishly. The emotional turmoil he had been going through had drained him. "She said she would wait for me. She's waiting for all of us... "

Rude looked down and grinned to see the small smile on his sleeping partner's lips. "Do you think he'll be alright now?"

Rufus nodded. "He promised Elena."

"We'll just need to remind him of that every once in a while," Tseng added, as he helped Rude to carry Reno to the couch that sat next to the broken door. Then, for the first time since Reno had been returned to them, they left him to sleep on his own, safe in the knowledge that Elena would still be protecting him.


End file.
